1. Technical Field
The present device is a portable drawing board adapted for use by art students of all ages for drawing perspective drawings.
2. Background Information
Artists use various types of mediums, tools, and techniques to achieve desired effects. Artists who wish to create a sense of depth in their images most often use a technique called linear perspective. Linear perspective is based on the concept that an object in front of you would appear larger than an identical object located farther away. With linear perspective, lines that illustrate depth always converge to a vanishing point. For example, from the standpoint of the center of a highway extending straight ahead into the distance, the highway appears to have edges which converge at a central point. This central point is called the vanishing point.
Soon after they begin a drawing course, art students are taught the concept of linear perspective and the vanishing point. A vanishing point may be within the frame of the picture, such as in a landscape, or it may be outside the frame of the picture, as is often the case for a close-up of an object. Once they learn one-point perspective drawing, they are taught drawing from the two-point perspective. Many students have difficulty applying these concepts and achieving presentable perspective drawings. Artists and students use straight edges, such as rulers or triangles, to make their lines clean and precise. They may also use a drawing board for holding paper or the like while they draw. Even with these tools, though, it is difficult for many students to grasp these concepts and produce presentable drawings. Many art students, especially teenagers, dislike practicing and give up before they master the required techniques.
Although drawing boards are known, portable drawing boards that are adapted for helping art students to quickly and easily learn to draw perspective pictures are not. The drawing board of the present invention accomplishes this task, and enhances the quality and quantity of linear perspective drawings. The present drawing boards helps the student to learn one and two point perspective drawings, and can be used long after the student has moved on to more complex projects. It is also suitable for use by amateur and professional artists.
The present invention is a portable drawing board device adapted for helping art students to draw perspective drawings, comprising:
(a) a generally rectangular-shaped, flat drawing surface on an upper surface of the drawing board, the drawing surface being adapted for supporting a flat drawing substrate;
(b) a pair of parallel side grooves in an upper surface of the drawing board, each being parallel and adjacent to one of two opposite sides of the drawing surface, and extending the length of the drawing surface;
(c) a pair of first slide adjusters adapted for sliding up and down along the side grooves; and
(d) a pair of movable pivot arms, each movably attached at one end to a slide adjuster;
wherein, when the first slide adjuster is in the side groove, the pivot arm extends over a portion of the drawing surface, and is adapted for assisting a user in drawing horizontal and diagonal lines on the drawing substrate. Variations of the sliding adjuster are also included herein, including an adjuster with a tack at the bottom for fixing along a side groove, and an adjuster with a hollow bottom which fits over pegs on the side groove.